Mike BL Wrote:
Here's my review of this record, as published in The L Magazine a few months back:
After reading The New York Times piece in which Nick Hornby completely lost his shit over Marah, declaring that he wanted to make out with them or that they’d saved rock ‘n’ roll or whatever, I just kind of rolled my eyes. They’re a proudly drunken bar band in the tradition of a young Springsteen or the Replacements, and their material has run the gamut from borderline landmark to undeniably shitty. If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry, falls somewhere in the middle. Recorded live in a NYC studio with minimal rehearsal time, the band’s fifth LP is jam-packed with would-be anthems for losers and fuck-ups. It’s energetic, admirably raw, and overflowing with venom. It’s also somewhat repetitive, though, and singer Serge Bilenko’s voice gets to be a bit annoying after a while. Beyond all that, there’s something far too self-conscious about the whole package — from their bio to the lyrics — as if they’re following a step-by-step guide to creating your very own set of Rock ‘n’ Roll Myths. If anyone’s going to save rock music any time soon, it’s going to be an accident. And nothing Marah does is an accident.
Serge only sings one or two songs per album.
